He had one sequence Tuesday that consisted of mauling an opponent to grab an offensive rebound and then, in an instant, turning into a ballet dancer for a swift spin move and layup.

After that, he sprinted and beat everyone to the opposite rim, grabbed a defensive rebound, dribbled it in transition through a scrambling opponent and dished to Harrison Barnes for a three-pointer.

"David looked the best he's looked all year: active, aggressive, running the floor, defending, rebounding," head coach Mark Jackson said after Tuesday's game. "When he plays that way, we're a totally different basketball team."

With a night to think on it, Jackson on Wednesday offered: "I thought David looked like David for the first time in a long time."

Lee might not be playing like Lee for the reasons you think.

Sure, within a two-week span, Lee went from being trade bait on Internet fan forums to holding the Warriors back on a major media blog to considering both subjects in a mainstream newspaper. On Tuesday, it went a step further when former head coach Don Nelson was quoted in a Sports Illustrated story saying, "He can't guard anybody."

"Oh yeah, I was out for blood," Lee said sarcastically. "No, I'm honest when I say that I don't read any of the positive or the negative stuff. I just know from my own point of view that I want to be playing better than I'm playing."

Lee doesn't need anyone to tell him that he wasn't playing up to his 2012-13 All-Star standard or the level that earned the monster deal the Warriors will be paying him through 2016.

He led the league with 56 double-doubles last season and was the only player in the NBA to average at least 18 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. This season, Lee is shooting a career-worst 49 percent from the field and averaging 17.2 points (worst since 2010-11) and 2.1 assists (worst since 2008-09).

He'll make approximately $13.9 million this season - about $100,000 less than Andrew Bogut. In each of the next two seasons, Lee will make more than $15 million - more than $2 million higher than his next-closest teammate.

So when his numbers dipped to 12.5 points on 40 percent shooting and 6.8 rebounds in the four games from Nov. 29 through Dec. 6, Lee went looking for answers. He studied video from last season and thought that his pace, quickness and explosiveness had dipped.

"I've been making a little pace change," he said. "I'm just trying to be aggressive more than anything else."

There's nothing little about it.

Lee has averaged 19 points on 48.5 percent shooting and 13 rebounds in games since his video study. The guy who will always be viewed as a defensive liability has increased his steal average from 0.0 to 1.2 and his blocked-shot average from 0.3 to 0.7 during the same span.

The "good" six-game stretch from Lee even includes a 7-for-18 night in Phoenix, where the Warriors lost and their energy, effort and passion were questioned by the head coach.

Those are things that don't sit comfortably with Lee. He is, in many ways, the Warriors' representative.

His pregame routine is earlier than any other experienced player, so he often does the pregame community-service duties. He represents the team at the pregame captain's huddle with officials - even though Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut are also captains.

This, however, is not a time for talking - he says.

"It's not about saying anything in the locker room or saying anything back to coach," Lee said. "It's about being better than I was in the last games, with showing energy and playing as hard as I can. Everything else will take care of itself."

Thursday's game

Who: Spurs (20-5) at Warriors (14-12)

Where: Oracle Arena

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV/Radio: CSNBA, TNT/680

Of note: Through Tuesday, the Spurs were the only team in the league that ranked among the top five in offensive efficiency (fourth, 106.2) and defensive efficiency (second, 95.9). ... San Antonio is 50-9 against the Warriors since Tim Duncan's rookie season in 1997-98. Duncan averaged 17 points on 53.4 percent shooting and 12.4 rebounds in the first seven December games after posting 12.4 points on 42.5 percent shooting and 7.2 rebounds in October and November. ... Point guard Tony Parker missed Wednesday's game in Phoenix and is expected to be absent for Thursday's game in Oakland because of a bruised shin. ... With Manu Ginobili and former Warriors guard Marco Belinelli, who leads the NBA in three-point percentage, the Spurs' bench is first in the league in assists and second in points.